Quote:
|
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud
As I stated in the other thread, I began going to bars at age 18 and frequented at least 5 times a week up until the age of 27 in Kansas and Missouri.
Did I "Like" the smoking in bars? No. But it didn't prevent me from going. Once I moved to Los Angeles, I immediately noticed how smoking was barely present - it was almost as if smoking wasn't allowed but it hadn't been banned until 4 years later. People out here, on whole, are more health conscious.
I am happy that smoking in bars and restaurants has been banned in most countries across the globe but for me, smoking in restaurants and places that serve food is ten times more annoying than smoking in bars. If I spend $10 or $100 on a meal, I would most certainly enjoy it much more in a smoke-free atmosphere.
|
Interesting. I guess that I would agree with banning smoking in restaurants for the most part. I'd say that smoking detracts from a restaurant environment fairly substantially. In addition, the average meal only lasts an hour or two, which most smokers that I know of can last without a cigarette. Also, I'd imagine that the incidence rate of smokers for people who go to restaurants is near the incidence rate for the general population (18 percent).
It's bars that get me, though. While I do agree that smoking tends to detract from the environment a bit, it doesn't seem to me that it's near as big of a deal as it is in restaurants. People are also there for longer periods of time - sometimes as much as 6 hours or more - so the likelihood that a smoker would be able to just "go without" is far smaller. Finally, I could be wrong on this, but I would guess that the incidence rate of smokers for people who go to bars is much larger than the incidence rate of the general population since alcohol and smoking tend to go hand in hand for many people.
I guess that, to me, it's far less likely that a smoking ban will harm the business of a restaurant than the business of a bar. That's a lot of the reason why I think smoking bans in bars are going a bit too far.